A facile and rapid route to self-digitization of samples into a high density microwell array for digital bioassays

Digital bioassays are powerful methods to detect rare analytes from complex mixtures and study the temporal processes of individual entities within biological systems. In digital bioassays, a crucial first step is the discretization of samples into a large number of identical independent partitions. Here, we developed a rapid and facile sample partitioning method for versatile digital bioassays. This method is based on a detachable self-digitization (DSD) chip which couples a reversible assembly configuration and a predegassing-based self-pumping mechanism to achieve an easy, fast, and large-scale sample partitioning. The DSD chip consists of a channel layer used for loading the sample and a microwell layer used for holding the sample partitions. Benefitting from its detachability, the chip avoids a lengthy oil flushing process used to remove the excess sample in loading channels and can compartmentalize a sample into more than 100,000 wells of picoliter volume with densities up to 14,000 wells/cm² in less than 30 s. We also demonstrated the utility of the proposed method by applying it to digital PCR and digital microbial assays.